Page 48 of Ghostly Bother
Ray glanced at Lance. "We'll be in the backyard." He turned to Bethany. "You and Betty have fun. I'll see you in a few hours. Come on, Eden. I'll tell you what I know, but I think you're too newly dead to be strong enough." He headed outside.
Lance was shocked when Eden followed him without question. Once alone with Bethany and Betty, he whispered, "Tell me what you found out."
Bethany grinned. "Eden's sister is sleeping with Eden's husband, and I don't think it's something that just started happening. The two seem very comfortable together."
Lance was shocked. "Do you think Eden knows?"
Bethany shrugged. "Ray and I found them sleeping in the same bed. We hung around until they woke up and other things started happening in bed. That's when we left. We're going to go back and spend more time there and see if we can figure out how long this has been going on, but I can tell you from what little we saw, they didn't act like first time or even new lovers. We are helping Isaac with the raid tonight. Not that we can be much help, but Lizzy will drive by the area right before the raid. We'll go in and look around and meet back up with Lizzy so she can let Captain Marshall know how many are inside and what's going on. Then Lizzy will head home where she's safe while the raid is taking place. We knew Angus would freak out if Lizzy got too close to the action. We're hoping he doesn't learn about her involvement until after it all happens."
"Then don't tell me. You know I won't lie to him if he asks me anything." Lance took a seat at the table.
"We thought you two weren't speaking right now. Figured it was safe. Just don't let on you know anything if you do talk to him, then you won't have to lie." Betty bent and brushed a ghostly kiss on his cheek. "We'll be back. We need to let Lizzy know about Eden's sister so she can call Angus. We won't be long."
"I can maybe sneak a call now that they're outside." Lance looked out the window where Ray and Eden were standing facing each other, their hands extended as if pushing at each other.
"Don't risk it. She sees you on the phone and she'll rush in. I need to check in with Lizzy anyway," Betty told him. "We won't be long."
"Thanks for all this, Betty. I know it's upended your life."
"You mean my death?" She laughed. "It's all good. I just wish you'd come to us sooner about her. She's a piece of work, isn't she?" She waved. "See you in an hour or two."
Lance watched as Bethany and Betty moved through the walls and left the house. Ignoring the ghosts in his backyard, Lance got back to cleaning the house. He was about to pull out the vacuum when he saw movement to his side. He turned and smiled at the sight of Cel moving toward him. "Cel, it's about time you came by."
"I know you've been busy and so have I, but I wanted to drop by. I was hoping we could cook something up tonight." She looked around. "Where is everyone?"
"Ray's out back with Eden, and Bethany and Betty just ran over to Lizzy's house. Angus is working. How's your son?"
She waved her hand. "He's fine. Thank God. He thought it would be fun to make a jump in the front yard and take his bike over it. I saw the accident coming before it happened, but there was nothing I could do to prevent it. He went down hard when the ramp tipped and broke his arm. He's enjoying all the attention the cast is getting him, but I swear I about had another heart attack as I watched him go down. He's just lucky it wasn't worse."
"I'm glad he's okay. I remember building ramps when I was about his age. Jackson and I used to see who could jump their bike the farthest." Lance smiled at the memory. "Seems forever ago."
"Time flies," Cel agreed. "But the real reason I came over today, other than to just say hello, is I'm in the mood to cook, and since I can't, I was hoping you might be in the mood to let me mentor you a bit more and do the cooking for me."
"Sure, but I don't have anyone to feed, so whatever we make will either have to be frozen for leftovers or I'll have Lizzy andFranks come grab some so they all can enjoy it." Lance was always happy for a new cooking lesson from Cel.
"Where's Angus?"
"Work, but he's been staying at Lizzy's for a few days. We've had a few issues." Lance sat down on the couch.
"You two okay?" Cel looked concerned. "I didn't think anything could get between you two." She sank down on the couch beside him. "What's going on?"
Lance went on to explain about Eden and what a pain she'd been, then told her how Angus had chosen to leave, thinking it might help the situation. He had to blink back tears as he admitted to her how much his leaving had hurt him. "He just made the decision without even talking to me. It was as if he wanted to leave. Was looking for an excuse."
"Now you know that isn't true. That man loves you. I'm sure the stress of the situation just made him grasp the first solution he saw. He figured if he wasn't here, then Eden would leave you alone." Cel frowned. "I'm guessing since she's in the backyard, it didn't work?"
"Nope, she has barely left my side. She has quit nagging me with questions about her case, but she's still always around. Even at work she hovers and talks non-stop as I'm trying to do autopsies or reports. Betty finally came over to act as a buffer and it's helped, but I really just wish Eden would go."
"Honey, I wish I'd known. What can I do to help?"
Lance smiled. "I think cooking tonight will be therapeutic. But we'd have to run to the store. I'm out of or low on everything. What did you have in mind?"
"How about my buffalo chicken meatloaf? We can make a few of them and send them off with Franks and Lizzy. Then, if you're still feeling up to it, we can make some gooey chocolate chip cookies for dessert. Are you up for all that?" she asked.
"It sounds like just what I need. Let me go change and we can head to the store. Thank you for this. Somehow, you knew exactly what I needed." Lance stood.
"Oh, this is as much for me as it is you. I cooked when I was stressed. Now that I can't cook, I go crazy at times. This is therapy for me as well. Go get your stuff. I'll let Ray know what we're doing."
"I can't promise Eden won't tag along." Lance sighed.
